Fish-line sinker



Aug. 6, 1957 M. E. DAVES FISH-LINE SINKER Filed Dec. 18, 1955 |NVE NTO'R MflJOR 5. DA! VES ATT RNEY United States Patent FISH-LINE SINKER Major E. Daves, El Sobrante, Calif.

Application December 18, 1953, Serial No. 399,031

6 Claims. (Cl. 43-431) The invention relates to an improved sinker for anchoringthe forward end of a fishing line at the bottom of a body of water for disposing submerged hooks on the line onor adjacent the bottom as desired.

An object of the invention is to provide a' sinker which is not readily dislodged by water currents when resting on the bottom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sinker which is non-fouling with respect to rocks or organic matter including marine growth at the bottom.

A further object is to provide a sinker which is re tractable by a pull on the attached line with a minimum of effort and in a prompt bottom-cleaning manner.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be setforth or be apparent from the following description of a typical embodiment thereof and in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of a fish-line sinker embodyingthe features of my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the sinker.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a body element of the sinker.

Figure 4 is a partlysectional view taken at the broken line 4-4 in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section taken at the line 55 in Figure 2. p I

Figure dis a rear view of theelement of Figure 3.

In its presently illustrated form, a unitary fish-line sinker 7 comprises a body element 8 arranged for attachment to a fish line and unitarily mounting a weight element 9 entirely within the confines of the body. The body element 8 is preferably formed of a material of relatively low specific gravity, while the material of the weight element 9 has a relatively high specific gravity; the materials may respectively be of aluminum and lead compositions, and the present body element 8 is formed as shaped from an original flat blank of sheet metal of uniform thickness. All mutual exterior jointures of the surfaces of the elements 7 and 8 are flush whereby the sinker is streamlined against resistance to its movement through the water, particularly during its withdrawal with the line to which it is attached.

The present body element 8 is of semi-elliptic planar outline extending to a rounded point from its rear edge 11 which is substantially at the minor axis of its ellipse; the ellipse of the present boundary of the body element 8 has its minor and major axes in the approximate length ratio of 3 to 7 for providing its outline. Axially thereof, the element 8 is provided with a transversely'offset portion 12 tapering from its rear edge 11 to a relatively sharp forward point 13 in said axis, and it is the space in this offset 12 which is arranged to retainedly receive and mount the weight element 9 within its confines. The portion 14 of the element 8 laterally of the ofiset 12 is fiat, and the edge line 15 of the offset 12 at the portion 14 is substantially equidistant from its bounding side edge 16 whereby the generally V-shaped portion is of substantially uniform width along it. a

The offset 12 is of generally semi-conical outline and extends from the flat face 17 of the flange portion 14 as a transverse projection therefrom, and the plane of the other fiat face 18 of the portion 14 defines a fiat boundary for the space defined within the offset. The longitudinal surface elements of the conical ofifset 12 are smoothly curved as the lines 15 at the juncture of the offset exterior with the fiat face 17 of the element 8 whereby to provide a generally conically tapered portion having its exterior face 19 convexedly arched both laterally and longitudinally thereof. Also, as viewed from the offset end at the edge 11 (Fig. 6), the curved transverse arch of the offset is preferably no more than a half circle and may be slightly less, as is particularly shown. A hole 20 extends through the portion 14 in its axial line and between its forward point and the point 13 of the offset 12 for providing a fish-line connection there-at, as through the attached swivel link 21 shown in Figure 1.

Laterally spaced cross-bars 23 and 24 are provided entirely within and across the body space 25 defined within the offset 12 in spaced relation to the plane of the body face 18 and opposite cross-slots 26 provided through the wall of the offset and extending between the bar ends; as shown, the bars 23 and 24 are parallel to the plane of the face 18 and are perpendicular to the longitudinal sinker axis and are formed with longitudinal offset stiffening ribs 27. In the present structure, the bars 23 and 24 comprise integral parts of the body element 8 which have been displaced inwardly from the transversely curved offset portion to provide the slots 26 which are directed generally perpendicularly to the offset surface thereat, and function as embedded anchor bars for the installed weight element 9.

The unitary body element 12 now described is particularly arranged for its complete shaping from an originally flat blank of suitably malleable sheet material of semielliptical outline, it being noted that the forming of the body offset 12 in a blank having its rear edge originally straight will provide the edge 11 with angularly related parts at the rear ends of the portion 14 while the plane of the intermediate edge part will slope slightly for, wardly, this being brought out in Figures 2 and 5. Alternatively, the body element 12 might be molded of a metallic or plastic material for the subsequent provision of the weight element 9 within its olfset, the material of the weight element being liquid at a temperature below the melting temperature of the material of the body.

Having a body element 12 of the form shown and described, the weight element 9 is provided thereon by casting the same of a heavy fusible material, as a metal or metallic alloy, solely within the offset space as defined by the plane of the face 18, the wall of the offset and the plane of the part of the edge 11 at the rear end of the offset. When the weight element 9 is so installed on the body element 8, a flat face 28 thereof is flush with the face 18 of the body portion 14, the rear end of the element is fiush with the rear end of the body space 25, and portions 29 of the element extend into the slots 26 to have their outer faces flush with the adjacent outer face portions of the offset; in this manner, the weight element 9, which completely encloses the anchor bars 23 and 24, is fully anchored and keyed to the body while all exposed body and weight faces are continuous and are as smooth as the finish provided thereat. It will be understood that a present weight element of a lead composition may be readily cast in place in the offset space while the offset side of the body is fittedly engaged in a complementary basin provided by a mold including a cover plate for the basin.

By reason of the fact that the present sinker has its Patent ed Aug. 6, 1957 maximum width at its rear end and is transversely blunt thereat, it will be understood that a settling of a present line-attached sinker to the bottom of fishing Waters cannot readily wedge its structure in any rocks or rubbish or growth at the bottom, yet efiects such an engagement of the sinker with the bottom that it may not be readily displaced by water currents thereat whether the offset face is upwardly or downwardly directed. Furthermore, a removal of the sinker from thebottom when the line is pulled, will, particularly by reason of the pull of the line at the pointed front end of the sinker, promptly release the sinker from the bottom to effect its planing or gliding withdrawal through the water with a minimum of frictional resistance by reason of the glide-providing action of the flat body portion 14 as a fin or Wing, taken with the streamlined form of the sinker in which the body and weight elements cooperatively present unbroken bounding surfaces at all exposed faces of the sinker. It will thus be understood that the present sinker structure accomplishes the stated and other purposes in particularly effective manners.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the present fish-line sinker will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains. While I have herein described the construction and features of a form of my invention which is now considered to comprise a preferred embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the present disclosure is primarily illustrative, and that such changes and developments may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a fish-line sinker, a one-piece body element comprising a rigid plate member of uniform thickness having a substantially V-shaped flat portion having its side parts tapering to a common junction at the forward sinker end and laterally bounding a substantially semi-conical hollow transversely oitset portion tapering from the rear end of the body medially thereof and to an intermediate body point, and a weight element retainedly and fully occupying the hollow of the offset portion.

2. A structure in accordance with claim 1 in which the weight element comprises a body which has been fittedly molded in the hollow of the offset portion about an inwardly struck-out part of the portion.

3. In a fish-line sinker, a one-piece body element comprising a rigid plate member providing a substantially V-shaped fiat portion having the outer edges of its side parts symmetrically tapering with respect to the longitudinal sinker axis and to the forward sinker end, said fiat portion directly and laterally bounding a substantially semi-conical hollow transversely offset plate portion, said offset plate portion tapering from the rear extremity of the body to a point of the flat body portion spaced rear- Wardly of the forward end of the body element, and being symmetrical on each side of the sinker axis, and a weight element retainedly and fully occupying the hollow of the offset portion.

4. A structure in accordance with claim 3 having the peripheral edge of the flat plate portion defining a generally semi-elliptic outline in plan and having its arcuate part appreciably and substantially uniformly spaced from the bounding edge of the offset plate portion.

5.-A structure in accordance with claim 3 having the peripheral edge of the flat plate portion of a semi-elliptic outline having its major axis coincident with the longitudinal sinker axis, the major and minor axes of the ellipse of said edge having the approximate ratio of seven to three.

6. A structure in accordance with claim 3 having the flat plate portion. forwardly of the offset portion provided with a transverse line-attachment opening intersecting the. sinker axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 903,333 Slocum et al Nov. 10, 1908 1,797,005 Lillegraven Mar. 17, 1931 1,802,295 Wear Apr. 21, 1931 1,993,114 Rasmussen Mar. 5, 1935 2,038,127 Pflueger Apr. 21, 1936 2,261,549 Hayes Nov. 4, 1941 2,290,512 Weesner July 21, 1942 2,504,080 Myers Apr. 11, 1950 2,557,599 Dunmire June 19, 1951 2,733,535 Rosen Feb. 7, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 109,512 Australia Jan.18, 1940 617,336 Great Britain Feb. 4, 1949 

